Message from Father Tom

Now that we have been on lockdown for about a month it is a good time to take stock of our spiritual life. Most have not received the Eucharist since our last scheduled Mass. Many have not been in the church since then either. Of course, a number of parishioners do come to the church to pray throughout the week and on Sunday's. Our prayer now is silent and contemplative, sitting in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in spiritual communion with our Lord, Jesus Christ. Many of those who come to Adoration have remarked on how their prayer life is changing and deepening. Even without receiving the Sacrament, they feel extremely close to the Lord.

For me, this time of social distance and virtual communion makes me want to think about what we have done at Good Shepherd, what we are doing, and what we can do in the future. For example, it is clear to me that we should stream Masses so that the elderly, the sick, and home-bound members of the community can watch our Masses and classes on line on a regular basis. It is clear that we need an effective way to communicate with all the members of the community who want to participate actively in the life of the parish. It is clear that we have to promote WESHARE, the on line giving app, so that our parishioners can help support the parish whether they are physically present or not. It is clear that the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration are central to our life as Catholic Christians.

Now, my question to all of us: What else can we do to reach out to people, evangelize, deepen our life of faith? What more can we do or what can we do differently to connect our youth actively to the life of the Church. How can we reach those who are distanced from living the faith but now recognize the need to put Christ at the center of their lives.

In the 14th century, the Black Death killed about 1/3 of the population of Europe. It changed society radically. It also led to changes in the Church, most markedly in the growth of contemplative prayer and home based prayer life for many Christians. What can it mean for us?

There is one tricky aspect to all of this thinking. Many will say: "Father, you should do this, or you should do that". One thing that has become increasingly clear to me as I come to the end of another decade of life, is that "Father" cannot make everything happen. What we really need are parishioners to say "I think it would be good to do this, and I will take this responsibility."